Something Old, Something New

December 10-12, 2016

Tim returned from India Saturday morning, arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok just before 7 a.m.  Mick and I left Pattaya just after six a.m. to meet him.  Tim and I would be attending a wedding in Bangkok later that morning, and spending the weekend in this eastern "city of angels."

in the lobby of the Oriental Residence hotel

A work associate of Tim's was marrying a Thai woman, and we were excited to take part in a Thai wedding.  We booked a room at the same hotel where the wedding was taking place, the lovely Oriental Residence Bangkok, but we arrived too early and the room was not ready.  We decided to upgrade to an available suite, rather than trying to get ready for the wedding using the exercise showers offered to us.  The room was lovely, with a full kitchen and sitting room.  We were presented with a pretty tray of Thai sweets when we entered.  Tim tried to grab a little sleep before dressing for the 11 a.m. wedding.

Irish proverb in a Thai hotel!

view from our room

We arrived to find a fairly westernized wedding reception.  We learned that the traditional Thai ceremonies had taken place earlier.  The day before the wedding, the groom and his friends processed to the bride's home, singing and bearing gifts for the bride's family.  Traditionally, the groom makes a (usually) symbolic gift of money, and the bride's family parades it around to show that their daughter is marrying well.  In most parts of Thailand, this money is returned to the couple to help them start their new life together, although Mick says families in the Isaan (northeastern) part of the country do not do this.

Their wedding day began with monks chanting blessings for the couple.  The couple wore classic Thai wedding clothes for this part.  Traditionally, the couple kneels, and the "Monkol" headpiece, made from a single piece of cotton, symbolically joins them together.  They rest their arms on a small padded table and hold their hands close together.  Family and friends line up to perform the Shell Ceremony, pouring water over their hands and wishing them happiness and success in their life together.

Photos courtesy of the bride and groom

This was all completed by the time we arrived.  The couple had changed into contemporary western wedding clothes, and were greeting guests with champagne and small jars of honey "to share with your honey."  We brought a gift, but noticed just a small box for envelopes, and figured it is more traditional to give money, although our gift was graciously accepted.  We met the bride's parents and some of the groom's friends and associates.  The father of the bride was delightfully entertaining and made us feel welcome.  A Thai businessman, he spoke excellent English, and he clearly enjoyed his role as emcee as he amused us all with his jokes and stories.  He pointed out the international flavor of the family, introducing other relations who had married foreigners, and the bride's Chinese grandmother gave a Chinese blessing.

The food and drink were delicious, lots of Thai and western fair, and we enjoyed sampling some traditional Thai desserts.  The couple shared the story about how they met at Starbucks, and a couple sitting at our table said they'd also met at Starbucks.  Good place for a love connection. I guess!  The couple seemed very happy, and we were honored to be a part of their happy day.

traditional-thai-wedding-ceremony

After some much needed rest, we went out to look for somewhere to have dinner.  The concierge suggested trying Soi Ruam Ruedi, where we passed a tempting place that had a wall of board games available. We settled on the Witch's British Tavern, which had a wall of books instead.  Good food and good music.

looking back at our hotel

GAMES!

I noticed a Catholic church not far from our hotel, so I ventured out Sunday morning, passing the fairly unassuming U.S. Embassy along the way.  Holy Redeemer Church is a fairly modern church inside, with a traditional Thai exterior.  I was intrigued by the "Christ the Redeemer" statue at the front, instead of the crucifix.  The Stations of the Cross were incorporated into one long, sculpted mural.  The mass was in Thai, my first, and I noticed how different some of the traditional prayers were.  The "Our Father" was very different, much longer than the English version.

We had breakfast, then ventured out to see a part of Bangkok we hadn't seen before.  A complimentary hotel shuttle dropped us near a BTS station, and we discovered an elevated walkway that connected several shopping centers.  We walked our tails off, but enjoyed the people-watching and the Thai-style Christmas decorations.

Ever -present Bangkok traffic

Who's afraid of a little sock monkey?

Not me!

Where's Wagner?

From the elevated walkway, we could see the Erawan Shrine, a Hindu shrine in Bangkok that houses a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of the Hindu god of creation Lord Brahma.  This is a very popular sight for worshipers and tourists, and was the sight of a bomb explosion last year that killed twenty people.

We wandered through a Thai souvenir area that had a collection of Buddhist and Hindu altars, and watched an electric train carry families with little children around the mall as we ate lunch.  We were entertained by the skaters at the skating rink.  One little guy even wore full hockey gear.

like training wheels for skates!

In the evening, we took a taxi to the Em Quartier mall, a beautiful, modern structure I'd heard so much about.  As we approached, we found a big jazz band performing out in front, in honor of the late king.  They were quite entertaining, and a group in one corner were doing some serious dancing.

Dancing to the beat of a different drum...

We found the beautiful, multi-story waterfall, lit with colorful lights, and strolled through an upscale night market.  After much searching and wrong turns, we found the rooftop garden where we could look out over the city.   A big bookstore drew us in, and we enjoyed some quick browsing just before closing time. We had planned to have dinner and hit a jazz club nearby, but we were both ready to call it a night.

In the morning, we enjoyed a relaxed breakfast at the hotel.  A friendly bellhop, upon learning we planned to visit Chiang Mai, wrote out detailed information about places he recommended for us, before he hauled our luggage down to the lobby.  Excellent service!